Larisa Alaverdyan: Authorities punish participants in Artsakh wars

 
The position of the authorities on the return of soldiers held in Baku prisons and the search of those missing during the Artsakh war is a stigma not only for them but also for us, former Armenian human rights defender Larisa Alaverdyan told Alpha News. She participated in a protest outside the UN office in Yerevan along with families of soldiers captured and missing during the Artsakh war. 

“The Armenian authorities did not even bother to work and deal with this issue. They have been in power for 6 years, but they still blame the ‘formers’ for all the problems. When this government signed the statement of November 9, 2020, it gave away the land along with the boys involved in the fighting. The boys did not even know that they had already been surrendered, and most of the prisoners were given away by these authorities. During these long and stressful four years, the government has not put the issue of prisoners on the political agenda on any platform.

This means that the government has been inactive on the issue of prisoners of war and hostages held in Baku. I am convinced that there is no pressure from Baku on the issue of prisoners. This is the conviction of the current authorities; in this way, they punish all those who participated in the Artsakh wars,” Larisa Alaverdyan noted.

On January 4, the head of the Investigative Committee, Argishti Karamyan, said in an interview with Public Television that at that time there were 23 confirmed prisoners in Baku, 17 of whom were captured on September 19, 2023, during Azerbaijan’s attack. Karamyan also added that the Armenian side has actual data about 32 more prisoners. 

“We have actual data on the enforced disappearance of 32 persons after the 44-day war, which was submitted to supranational authorities,” Karamyan said.